IMS publishes annual report on electronic music industry

The wide-ranging report, which summarises consumer trends, growth forecasts and sales data, shows a modest two per cent dip in the monetary value of the industry overall.

International Music Summit (IMS) has published its latest annual report.

The 28-page report observed industry successes in all four categories—recorded music, DJs and live acts, clubs and festivals, and companies and brands, though year-on-year growth for the entire industry dipped slightly (£7.3bn, a two per cent drop from last year.)

In the recorded music category, market share for electronic music in Europe and North America receded slightly. The percentage of people consuming electronic music in Germany (6.4 per cent, down from seven per cent) and the UK (11.6 per cent, down from 15.4 per cent) fell from the previous year. Surging interest in other styles of music, including pop and hip-hop, led to this dip in the UK, said the report. Overall revenue generated by recorded music in Europe, driven by streaming, rose by 4.3 per cent. (A similar trend in the US and Canada, where market share fell but revenue increased, was observed.) The same figure for Asia and Australasia was 5.4 per cent, with China and South Korea cited as the strongest emerging markets for dance music. This was also partially reflected in the report's events section—in China, the number of festivals is projected to double in 2018.

The report shows widespread industry gains elsewhere. Between 2014 and 2016, sales of music merchandise increased by nearly a third. The report also notes multi-million dollar investments in firms such as Mixcloud ($11.5 million) and Native Instruments (€50 million), and a ten per cent sales growth for the latter in 2016. Pioneer DJ's sales also rose that year, by five per cent. The market for music production software is expected to grow by nine per cent annually till 2021. The industry overall is projected to be worth nearly $9 billion by that year.

Elsewhere, IMS noted the contribution of electronic music to Spotify, now valued at $28 billion, and Beatport's quarterly sales growth. The retailer, which two years ago was facing being sold by its then-bankrupted owner, SFX (now called LiveStyle), recently acquired the DJ-centric streaming platform Pulselocker. Other categories outlined include DJ earnings, the growth of online fanbases via YouTube, Instagram and Spotify, and recent changes in DJ polls.

Pete Tong, the IMS cofounder, told RA: "Despite the small decline this year the contribution of the underground music scene appears to have actually grown. The social media explosion and rise of artists like Amelie Lens, underground festivals and the large investment into companies like Native Instruments all give us plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the future."